Chapter 241: Too Early to Say

Lin Sicheng was a bit far away; he hadn't even reached the slope yet, but a large crowd had already gathered around the QianTanjie.

Someone shouted, "Engineer Lin is here," and with a "whoosh," the crowd automatically parted to make a path.

Shui Jisheng was leaning on a cane, and Ren Xinbo stood to one side, holding a few pieces of gray coal cinder in his hands.

Seeing Lin Sicheng, he held them out: "Engineer Lin, take a look!"

Lin Sicheng nodded and took one.

It felt heavy in the hand, the texture was very hard, and the color was black with a silvery sheen. The surface had residual white ash and displayed a unique metallic luster.

The cross-section had dense cracks and fine, small holes. However, they were uneven in size, much like an irregular honeycomb.

Lin Sicheng lowered his head and looked at the probe tube on the ground: two meters below the surface, for nearly a meter in thickness, it was all this stuff.

This indicated that there was a pile of Coke beneath their feet, and it was by no means formed by accident, but used in bulk as fuel.

Tossing it aside, Lin Sicheng clapped his hands: "Lan charcoal, named because its broken patterns intersect and resemble mountain mist. When it first enters the furnace, it emits a blue flame, so it is also called blue charcoal, or Lan charcoal..."

"Because ancient technology was limited and the ancient method of dry distillation was not thorough, from the perspective of modern industrial science, it can only be considered semi-coke..."

Ren Xinbo's eyes flickered: "Engineer Lin, if used to fire porcelain, how high could the kiln temperature reach?"

Lin Sicheng thought for a moment: "Fifteen or sixteen hundred should be possible; even without air blowing, it would still be over fourteen hundred!"

Ren Xinbo's lips twitched: "A high temperature of fifteen or sixteen hundred degrees, isn't that still just Coke?"

Lin Sicheng paused and nodded: If compared to firewood or coal, or if placed in ancient times, this was naturally Coke.

For a moment, a group of people stared at the charcoal cinder in the probe tube, not knowing what to say.

When they first arrived, when Lin Sicheng said there were Cave-pit Kilns, most people only had a half-understanding.

Including that part of the group who were very knowledgeable, they were basically all the same as Ren Xinbo, thinking that what Lin Sicheng was talking about were small workshop-style kilns.

Later, after digging out the kiln sweat and Lin Sicheng drawing a diagram, everyone finally understood what kind of Cave-pit Kiln he was talking about: a new, original type of kiln combining a Horseshoe Kiln with a sloped Dragon Kiln.

How new?

It was the first discovery in the province, and even the first in the country.

For archaeology, what do these four words mean?

Filling a historical void, correcting the trajectory of history.

To be honest, this was already shocking enough, so when General Engineer Shui mentioned later that Lin Sicheng speculated there were Tang Dynasty coal-burning porcelain kilns here, most were skeptical.

And later, when it was said that Lin Sicheng suspected there might be Coke-type Kiln Furnaces here, the group felt it was even more unreliable.

Because whether it was coal-burning porcelain kilns or Coke-type Kiln Furnaces, the earliest records in historical documents dated to the end of the Song Dynasty, and archaeological discoveries from the same period also confirmed this.

But before three minutes had passed since he finished speaking, they had probed a pile of Coke less than ten meters away from the kiln furnace?

This meant that in the Tang Dynasty, Hejin was already capable of firing high-temperature porcelain with glazed finishes at fourteen hundred degrees.

At this point, it was no longer a matter of filling a historical void, but of rewriting history. It further implied new craftsmanship and new technology.

Just the "Tang Dynasty Coke" alone was enough to write the Hejin Kiln, and Lin Sicheng who discovered the Hejin Kiln, into textbooks.

From now on, whenever Tang Porcelain, high-temperature porcelain, or ancient smelting is mentioned, it will be inseparable from this place, and inseparable from the name of the person who discovered this place...

Suddenly, someone remembered again that just after getting off the bus, Lin Sicheng had looked around Songmuli, walked around the mountain, and then pointed: where the temple was, where the pond was, and where the kiln was.

As well as his judgment regarding the coal-burning porcelain kilns and Coke-type Kiln Furnaces.

To be honest, this was no longer a question of whether it was fast or accurate, but something that exceeded the cognition of ordinary people.

Think about before: an HonoraryConsultant, Special Invited Expert, and Special Appointed Engineer in his early twenties... how damn excellent must he be?

Look at now: it's worth it, it's really damn worth it, worth a thousand, worth ten thousand.

Even if they didn't restore any egg-white porcelain in the end, this kiln alone made it worth the city leaders attaching such importance to it, and making a special trip to take a delegation to Xijing for negotiations...

The group was impressed beyond words, yet Lin Sicheng remained calm, proceeding step by step.

"Professor Huang, take the samples; let's run them through the instruments first..." Lin Sicheng instructed, then smiled again, "Don't get too happy too soon; what if it's not Tang Dynasty, but Song, or even Jin or Yuan Dynasty?"

That would still be enough.

Even if it were the Yuan Dynasty, it would still be two hundred years earlier than the earliest discovered "Ming Dynasty Chenghua use of Coke to fire doucai porcelain," enough to be called rewriting history.

Moreover, those present were not laymen; at least they knew what a superimposed site was: building a city on top of a city, a grave on top of a grave, meaning they are covered one over the other, with the old at the bottom and the new on top.

If it were a kiln site, that would mean building a new kiln on top of an old kiln.

Looking at the soil layers in the probe tube: the very bottom of the new kiln's charcoal pile and the red brick layer of the old kiln top were a full meter apart, and it was all virgin soil.

From this, one could infer that this superimposed relationship was not caused by human factors, but originated from natural forces. Nine times out of ten, it was a disaster like a flash flood or mudslide that destroyed the old kiln, and after the disaster, a new kiln was built on the old site.

In other words, the time difference between the new and old kilns might not exceed ten years, and very likely only a year or two; perhaps even the kiln workers and masters were the same group of people.

Therefore, if the old kiln is Tang Dynasty, the new kiln can only be Tang Dynasty...

Lin Sicheng asked for paper and a pen again and drew a new diagram: "Preliminary inference is that the interval between the two strata is not very long. But the interval layer is very thick, indicating it was just coverage, not destruction; try to use non-invasive exploration as much as possible..."

"Compared to the old kiln, the orientation of the new kiln is significantly offset, with a horizontal displacement of at least fifty meters. But the facility layout is not much different; it is still a slope-side Cave-pit Kiln furnace... Focus on surveying the coking furnace and supporting equipment; secondly, do not rule out that the kiln furnace structure is a Double Fire Chamber and equipped with air-blowing equipment..."

Lin Sicheng spoke while drawing, and Tian Jie held a notebook, recording every word onto it.

After giving the general instructions, the group went back down the slope.

Since the fuel pile had been found, finding the core kiln furnace location and supporting facilities was only a matter of time; there was no need to do it personally.

He accompanied Shui Jisheng back to the car.

There was shade nearby, and Tan Wu brought a folding chair for Lin Sicheng: "Teacher Lin, do you need to report?"

"Wait a bit; at most half a day, Professor Huang can produce the test results for the Coke and auxiliary samples. If nothing goes wrong, before dark, Director Tian and Team Leader Gao should basically be able to survey the general scope of these two layers of ruins. So, there's no rush to report until tomorrow morning..."

Lin Sicheng smiled: "Otherwise, if we fire a blank, how uncomfortable would the leaders be?"

That's true.

Shui Jisheng was getting on in years and couldn't sit for long; after chatting for a while, he said he would return to the city (Hejin) first. This included the accompanying personnel, more than half of whom were not participating in the survey but were just following along to inspect, and they would also return to the city.

Lin Sicheng personally saw him into the car, and before long, more than half of the motorcade on the side of the road was gone.

Ren Xinbo looked at the rearview mirror: Lin Sicheng waved his hand and sat back down.

Fearing that dust would be kicked up, the vehicles moved very slowly; more than ten of them, large and small, formed a long dragon on the country road.

After a brief pause, his eyes showed contemplation: "Teacher, did we forget something?"

Shui Jisheng let out a "Ha": Ren Xinbo, oh Ren Xinbo, you only just thought of it?

"Did you forget why so many people came today?"

"I didn't forget that: to take a look at the site and prepare to start work tomorrow!"

Ren Xinbo replied, then suddenly froze: Eh... that's right, work doesn't start until tomorrow?

Whether it was an auspicious day or not, he didn't know, but it was a date set by Lin Sicheng and the teacher together, and it was set for tomorrow.

The bureau leadership attached great importance to it and had given specific instructions; everything that needed to be prepared was ready: chicken, ox, pig heads, incense, paper, altars... including dozens of people who followed from various departments and units.

But as soon as they arrived, Lin Sicheng went up the mountain for a turn, then said there was a temple in Songmuli, and the Archaeology Team started working.

Afterwards, there were Porcelain Clay Piles, Washing Pools, pit kilns, and piles of Coke... Ren Xinbo was so shocked he was completely disoriented and had long since forgotten this matter.

So, since Lin Sicheng had already done so much work, why would he need to wait until tomorrow to start?

He was stunned for a long while: "Teacher, then is this work still going to be started?"

"Start what start?" Shui Jisheng sighed, "Little Lin doesn't believe in this stuff at all!"

Ren Xinbo was taken aback for a moment and sighed along with him.

What he was feeling emotional about wasn't whether Lin Sicheng believed in this, but that it had only been half a day?

Work wasn't supposed to start until tomorrow, yet Lin Sicheng had already finished nearly half the work today...

Ren Xinbo was a bit suspicious: "But it feels like he isn't very excited?"

"How high does it have to be to count as high?" Shui Jisheng glanced at him, "Like you, wearing your heart on your sleeve, ecstatic?"

Otherwise what?

A first-time discovery in the country, filling a blank, rewriting history—if things went well, it could get into textbooks; who wouldn't be excited?

But Lin Sicheng, let alone being excited, hadn't even changed his expression?

Ren Xinbo moved his lips, just about to say something, but closed his mouth again: Compared to him finding two layers of ruins in half a day, what did this count for?

Even now, he hadn't figured out how Lin Sicheng had made his judgments, or what evidence he had relied on...

And it wasn't just Ren Xinbo who couldn't figure it out; it also included Tian Jie, Gao Zhangyi, Shang Yan, Zhao Xiuneng, as well as Wang Qi Zhi and He Zhigang.

The canteen was arranged in the village primary school; Tan Wu had contacted the city (county) hotel to have fast food delivered temporarily. It couldn't be called anything but sumptuous, yet no one had much of an appetite.

Only Lin Sicheng, unhurried and steady, chewed and swallowed slowly.

"Actually, it's not hard to judge, including the Kiln God Temple, the layout of the Kiln Factory, the orientation of the Kiln Furnaces, as well as the burning of coal, Coke, and so on and so forth..."

"As for evidence, there is even more, including the mountain trends, river courses, terrain, orientation, composition of the porcelain clay, distribution of mineral deposits... Of course, the most critical thing is still that Bowl of General Engineer Shui, and those porcelain shards..."

They also knew that Lin Sicheng must have relied on these factors; the problem was, they didn't know the specific effects of these factors, how they were specifically manifested, or what kind of corroborating relationship they formed with each other.

"It's a bit complicated to explain, let me put it simply..." After finishing his last bite of rice, Lin Sicheng put down his Bowl and took the Tea Cup handed over by Fang Jin: "It's like a math formula; once you've done enough problems, you naturally know how to apply it..."

Several people were stunned for a moment.

They understood: Read a book ten thousand times, and its meaning will naturally reveal itself.

It was just like a group of poor students and one top student; they hadn't read as many books as Lin Sicheng, so no matter how much Lin Sicheng said, they had no way to understand.

The problem was, they hadn't seen Lin Sicheng reading much in his daily life either?

"But what about the Coke?" Wang Qi Zhi thought for a moment, "There is no evidence for this, not even any records or discoveries; how did you judge that?"

Lin Sicheng paused: Actually, there was evidence, and there were discoveries, but they weren't discovered now, but rather many years later.

In 2023, during the third excavation of the Xiabaiyu Jun Kiln site group in Yuzhou, Tang Dynasty ornamental Official Kiln wares were unearthed, with black, white, green, and colored glazes all found. Among them, the most famous was a Jade Pot Spring Vase of flower-glazed porcelain:

This discovery not only pushed the origin date of this vessel shape from the Song Dynasty back to the Tang Dynasty, but also rewrote the origin of the Jun Kiln: previously thought to be Bafengdong in the center of Yuzhou City, this discovery confirmed it was at Xiabaiyu in ShenhouZhen, about forty kilometers to the southwest.

It even moved the history of the Jun Kiln firing colored Kiln-transmutation Porcelain from the early Northern Song Dynasty back to the Kaiyuan period of the Tang Dynasty, a full two hundred years earlier.

Besides this Jade Pot Spring Vase, traces of Malachite Glaze Material were also excavated at the site at that time, simultaneously proving that by the mid-Tang Dynasty, the Jun Kiln already possessed the craft and technology to fire high-temperature Kiln-transmutation Porcelain.

The problem followed: this kind of begonia-red glaze color required a reducing atmosphere of 1350 to 1380 degrees to reduce the Copper Oxide in the Malachite into elemental copper, and then synthesize it into cuprous oxide; otherwise, the red color could not be presented.

However, with the technology of the Chai Kiln of the Tang Dynasty, it was difficult for the kiln temperature to reach 1200 degrees, let alone nearly 1400?

It wasn't until the following year, 2024, that the remains of a coking furnace were excavated near the kiln site, leading to a hypothesis: it was very likely that during the Tang Dynasty, the Jun Kiln had already mastered coking technology and used it for firing porcelain.

But because that area was a Jun Kiln site group with dozens of large and small kilns from every dynasty from the Tang to the Ming, and because the strata were severely damaged, it could not be confirmed whether the coking furnace was Tang, Song, Yuan, or Ming, so there had been no conclusion.

At that time, Lin Sicheng had even gone to see it; he leaned towards the Northern Song, or even the Tang.

As for how it was concluded later, he no longer knew, but it didn't hinder him from using it as a basis:

Since it was possible for the Jun Kiln during the Kaiyuan period of the Tang Dynasty to produce Coke and fire a 1380-degree copper-red glaze, why couldn't Hejin, only three hundred kilometers away from the Jun Kiln, fire 1400-degree White Glazed Porcelain during the same period or slightly later?

Anyway, it was just a guess, just a speculation; if it was there, great, if not, it didn't matter. Even when discussing it with Shui Jisheng at the time, he had just said it casually, and even Lin Sicheng himself hadn't held much hope.

Unexpectedly, the guess was right?

Having lived two lifetimes, Lin Sicheng knew too well what it meant if that pile of Coke was indeed from the Tang Dynasty: industrial innovation, technological innovation, fuel innovation.

It could even reach the height of "tracing the industrial genes of Chinese civilization and rewriting global technological history": the history of coking was about 1000 years earlier than in Europe, highlighting the cutting-edge status of ancient Chinese industrial technology.

Compared to this, the first discovery in the province or the country, filling historical blanks, etc., were all child's play.

Of course, it was only a possibility. As the saying goes, a single piece of evidence cannot stand alone, and a single source cannot be verified; relying on this one site was far from enough; at least two or three more sites from the same period needed to be excavated to corroborate each other.

But it was definitely not as Ren Xinbo said, that his interest wasn't high.

It was just that his temperament was relatively steady, and it couldn't be seen on his face. Like Shang Yan, Tian Jie, Gao Zhangyi, and even Huang Zhifeng who had already returned to the city to do lab tests, they were already so excited they didn't know what to do, unable to even taste the food delivered to their mouths.

Imagine: just this one kiln site alone, how many Thesis could be written, how many journals could be published?

He Zhigang lit a cigarette: "Since we aren't starting work, I'll go back this afternoon. The bureau side is easy to handle; everything was discussed beforehand, at most I'll issue a bulletin. But for the school side, how do you plan to report it?"

"The school side was also discussed; it will definitely be done according to the agreement." Lin Sicheng smiled: "Besides, the appointment letters here are being issued as promised, and the wages are being paid as promised, without a single discount. We can't suddenly find a benefit and then go back on our word!"

After a brief pause, He Zhigang nodded: "Right!"

Tan Wu sat to the side, eyes on nose, nose on heart, acting as if he hadn't heard anything.

But he knew clearly in his heart: what He Zhuguan and Lin Sicheng were discussing concerned the excavation report of the ruins, as well as the subsequent Thesis and journal publications.

Setting everything else aside, just consider this one point: "Tang Dynasty Coke"—the moment these four words hit the press, the whole country will be shaken to its core. This includes the academic circles of history, archaeology, ceramics, industry, culture, and so on, as well as the central management departments.

Never mind complete verification; as long as some results can be produced from the Artifact Research, the relevant journals can be published however one wishes, and they would absolutely be of the most core, most authoritative kind.

It wouldn't even take much; at most two or three papers would be more than enough to promote one's professional title by Level One: from Lecturer to Associate Professor, or from Associate Professor to Professor.

And as the nation's second-ranked top institution for archaeology, Xida is simply a god-given opportunity. It is possible that someone might start plotting.

Having known him for so long, He Zhigang naturally understood Lin Sicheng's character. Although it was still early to say, and it was hard to tell if the excavation would take years, for the sake of being prepared for a rainy day, both emotionally and reasonably, he had to give Lin Sicheng a reminder.

In a flash of thought, he looked at Wang Qi Zhi again, and Wang Qi Zhi nodded almost imperceptibly.

Just as he had guaranteed to Lin Sicheng before: you just focus on the academics and the Artifact Research, and leave the rest entirely to your teacher.

Not to mention that the President and Dean Geng would certainly not harbor such thoughts, even if they did, he guaranteed he would push back against them the first chance he got.

To put it another way: Lin Sicheng, his teacher, Shang Yan, Fang Jin, as well as Li Zhen from the Center, Zhu Kaiping and Feng Lin from the laboratory, and so on—aren't all of these people from the school?

It wouldn't take much; if everyone publishes one or two papers, wouldn't they all count for Xida?

Let Lin Sicheng publish the T-class (Special) and A-class (Authoritative Core) papers, while the remaining B-class, C-class, and general journals must certainly be shared with the local assisting departments. Then, one must also add Tian Jie, Gao Zhangyi, the several archaeology Captains, and Huang Zhifeng, the two Group Leaders.

How many people does that make?

How could it ever be the turn of those who try to cut in line temporarily?

As these thoughts turned in his mind, he gave He Zhigang a look of reassurance.

The two exchanged glances, and Shang Yan realized belatedly: "Then what about the local departments?"

"That's what is said, but it wouldn't be right to truly hog everything; a portion must definitely be shared!"

Lin Sicheng smiled, "Of course, it's still too early to talk about this; if it turns out to be coke from the Yuan Dynasty, then there's no need to mention it at all!"

The group shook their heads in unison: the soil structures of the two cultural layers were so similar, how could it possibly date to the Yuan Dynasty?

At the very least, it would be Song...

Just as he was pondering, the phone buzzed with a "vibration," and Lin Sicheng answered it casually, with Huang Zhifeng's voice coming through:

"Teacher Lin, the dating results for the Coke have come out..."